NAKAJIMA EMIRI
The fourth Lady of Yukigakue. Risen to her new rank after a time of discourse at the end of Yoi Saya's reign. The Nakajima Lady has a fierce reputation in her village and the political connections needed to make her fit for her job, what this fiery lady will bring to the land of ice and snow will be interesting. Personality Emiri is very much like her clan in terms of feelings of superiority over others. She's quite prideful and believes she deserves the world. What makes her so dangerous, though, is that she's willing and able to play a very long game of manipulation and deceit in order to achieve her goal. She places on a persona of an approachable and kind individual. Considering that she is a White Flame and is considered one of the highest members of her Clan, the fact that she seems not to care of the classes and gives off a calm, mysterious demeanor has given her quite a few admirers among both her Clan and the general populace. But she doesn't care about any of them. They are merely a means to an end. Even among her Clan, there isn't anyone that Emiri wouldn't sell out in order to achieve her goals. She doesn't particularly care for who or what she hurts or damages. Everything is a means to an end and that seemingly justifies all of her actions. Anything goes as long as her goals are forwarded. Despite her numerous admirers, Emiri never took anyone into part of her inner circle. She has had plenty of casual acquaintances and has acted friendly to countless people, but she didn't truly trust any of them. But she knows how to manipulate people into thinking what she's doing is all for the greater good. She can use flattery or force to get people to agree with her methods. Her abilities to gather secrets is extremely useful for making people come to the understanding that Emiri's way is the only way forward. Currently, Emiri's goals align with the Village's. She wants to move Yukigakure into a great nation that can be respected by all. She's willing to do anything to achieve this goal, and ultimately knows that a lot of feathers will be ruffled in the process. It won't stop her though, she is nothing if not determined and extremely patient. Appearance Emiri makes it a point to be an example of the refined tastes expected of a Nakajima Clan member. Every part of her appearance, from how she styles her hair to what outfits she chooses, is carefully planned and executed. She is finely toned, lithe muscles perfectly sculpted over her entire body from years of using taijutsu. She stands out brightly amongst the cold white snow of Yukigakure, with tanned skin and long red-orange hair. One would never think she was a born native of the icy-cold country. Her eyes are golden-brown in color, fierce and piercing. Though she is capable of softening her gaze along with her expression to fit the occasion, there will always be a slight edge to her gaze. Red is a forefront color to her outfits, further setting the woman apart from her snowy surroundings. Every outfit she dons will have, at least, one article of red clothing to it. For the most part, her favorite outfit seems to be a deep red sleeveless dress with a high neck and slits cut on the sides up to her hips, revealing her long toned legs. She wears a half-length vest over the top of her dress, which is the same color. The dress, while it may seem like a rather poor choice for a ninja, is actually quite easy to move around in. It's trimmed in gold and accented with black. Emiri will pair her dress with elbow-length sleeve gloves. She will wear a black thermal body suit beneath her dress, and sturdy (but stylish) boots to combat the snow. The outfit is incredibly stylish and looks as if it would be more appropriate in a cocktail party than out in the rough world of shinobi, but that is just another ploy for Emiri to get people to let their guard down. In actuality, she is armed to the teeth, just subtly. She spools thin golden ninja wires around her waist and attaches custom smoke bombs and flash bombs, made to look like gold discs, to the makeshift belt. She has twin brown leather thigh holsters around her upper legs that she uses to carry her weapons. History Emiri was born at the end of the Third Shinobi War after all the treaties were signed and the Villages had slinked back to their nations to lick their wounds. She was the only child born to a pair of war-hardened Blue Flames. They had high hopes for their child, as most Nakajima parents, wanting her to become a Green Flame so she could rise to be one of the greats within the clan. Her being a Green may have meant that their daughter would be taken from them, but that was the price they were willing to pay in order for their legacy to achieve greatness. Fate though decided not to grace them with the blessing of a Green Flame. When they brought the young girl to test what her affinity was, it was obvious that she had a natural affinity to Katon chakra, as was expected of a Nakajima. The litmus paper used to test her burst into flames when she grabbed ahold of it, showing her chakra was rather powerful, but the flame that appeared wasn’t Green, nor was it even Blue. A Red flame glowed from the paper and dashed her parents’ dreams. Emiri wasn’t sure what the problem was, but all she knew was that after that day, her mother and father didn’t look at her the same ever again. While it seemed that Emiri wasn’t destined to rise to greatness, she was still expected to serve as a foot soldier for Yukigakure and the Nakajima. Her unofficial training started as soon as she was able, to make sure she had an advantage over the non-Nakajima she’d be slotted with once she started in the Academy. Even though she was supposedly a simple Red Flame, that was no excuse to become complacent towards other people in the Nation. While she was decent at most of her lessons, she was considered even more of a disappointment when she had trouble even conjuring up the barest of flames. Her official training started when she was six years old. The class that Emiri was part of was rather thin of members, the Country had just come out of a very long period of war, but it didn’t stop her from wanting to make sure that she was considered the best of all of them. Her pre-training along with her natural intelligence allowed her to quite easily become the top of the class. She had talent with other, non-elemental, jutsu, easily able to learn Academy skills with ease when they were assigned. But her asocial behavior didn’t earn her many friends while she was advancing. She had the mentality that she needed to be the best and she didn’t need any friends to help achieve that and was quite vocal about that view. But then, one day, it was like a complete switch and Emiri came to class and started acting friendly and accepting of her classmates. She was still a little awkward, but she seemed to be making an effort in trying to get people on her side. Most of her classmates were accepting of the new Emiri, since she had never been outright mean, just mostly standoffish, but there were a couple who refused to believe that she had actually changed and was simply making nice due to the fact that their graduation exams were ever steadily approaching. They were completely right, Emiri had realized that one couldn’t get ahead very far within the shinobi world by themselves. She didn’t actually care about forming relationships and alliances, she just needed them so she could get ahead. Of course, she sold her new persona well for someone so young and the majority of students didn’t believe any of the bad words said against her. It went on for several months, Emiri manipulating her classmates into supporting. She kept at it, winning more and more over to her side, except for one young shinobi who steadfastly refused to believe Emiri had suddenly become a nice person. Her charming persona annoyed them and it reached a boiling point during their Exams when they were pitted against each other to see how well they could handle a one-on-one battle. While Emiri was talented in non-elemental jutsu and taijutsu, she still hadn’t been able to get over the hurdle of creating fire. It was a source of shame and embarrassment and the other student knew it. They used it to goad her, make her upset and make mistakes during the fight. Emiri was good at controlling her temper and emotions, but she was still rather young and occasionally slipped when worked up enough. She started messing up because her temper started to get the better of her and the other student kept pushing and pushing trying to get her to admit she was nothing more than a fake. The anger boiled up to a point and erupted over. Emiri sort of whited out as light and heat exploded outwards. Red flames enveloped her arms, burning hotter and brighter until the blazed a bright white. Hardly in control of the new power, she shot the flames at the other student in her anger. They ended up getting burned pretty badly and losing the match. Emiri didn’t get in trouble for the incident, it getting chalked up to a freak accident, and she ended up graduating from the Academy and becoming registered as a Yukigakure Genin. But she wasn’t able to properly celebrate the promotion due to the Nakajima Clan promptly freaking out when they learned she had produced white flames during her incomplete transformation. She was the first in a long time, and according to Clan traditions, that would make her their leader. Now that she could actually manage to produce a White Flame, Emiri was suddenly the clan’s favorite person, it threw her for a loop, but opened up an entirely new set of lessons that she would have to start learning alongside her shinobi duties. She was taken from her parents’ care and sent to live in the Green Flame household, where all her free time was spent teaching her mastery over the clan’s hijutsu and the politics needed to eventually take over for the Green Council as the leader. The only real time she left the Nakajima compound was when her Genin team was sent on missions. As the country was still in a period of peace, the missions weren’t too difficult and never too far outside the city limits. They tended to be simple tasks, chores really, to help rebuild what was still fumbling from the last war. She used her manipulative personality to continue to push her team into accepting as many missions as they could so she could get a better reputation. As time went on, she became better at controlling people with honeyed words and actions, and she rarely ever got angry anymore. Ever since the incident that awoke her fire abilities, she never lost her temper. With her intelligence, skills, and collected manner, she was slowly developing into a top shinobi within the beginning ranks of the Army. When Emiri was in her mid-teens, she was tested along with her teammates to see if they could be trusted with a promotion of rank and responsibility. They were sent deep within an abandoned mine that had been retrofitted into a challenge grounds. The trial was vicious, and it was one of the only times that Emiri's manipulative nature was incredibly obvious. She used her teammates as a distraction during a particularly harrowing fight. While it ended up with them winning the task, the teammates were injured, though not fatally. But somehow, even though they confronted Emiri about her behavior, she somehow manipulated their feelings into thinking that she had done the only thing possible to win. They forgave her, and the team was all raised to Chuunin level. After she was promoted, Emiri decided that she needed to expand her view of the world. She'd been confined to Yuki no Kuni so the only information she had for the outside was secondhand. So she left the Green Council and signed up to be one of Yukigakure's many mercenary-ninja. It left a sour taste in her mouth to be sell her skills to the highest bidder, but she knew the knowledge she could gain from outside the lands of Yuki would be invaluable. It was mostly solo work, but she did occasionally get partnered up with one or two others. Somehow, Emiri always managed to manipulate the group situations so it seemed as though she was the one who had taken the initiative and done the most. Her accomplishments over the next few years earned her recognition throughout ranks in Yuki and she was recruited into the city's equivalent of ANBU. The training under the ANBU was brutal, but Emiri was honed into a vicious killer. She wasn't the most subtle mercenary/assassin, that was kind of hard to be when you could literally turn into fire, but she was effective. Any mission that was thrown at her, she managed to successfully complete. She climbed within the ranks of the ANBU rather quickly, continuing to go on covert missions around the world. One such assignment brought the mercenary to the borders of the Storm Country, assisting the allied nation of Amegakure to beat back the invading Sunagakure. A year after that conflict ended, Emiri was assigned to help with the Kumo-Shimo conflict, she remained in the shadows during that conflict, for once, skirting the edges of battlefields and burning paths clear for Shimogakure troops. She’s not sure exactly who ended the conflict, but she heard rumors that it was one of Yuki’s own who ended the life of the Raikage. In her early 20s, Emiri was called back from abroad after the death of Lady Furuikazan Yuriko. As it was a sudden death, there wasn't a clear successor set to take her place, so the Council decided to hold a tournament with the final prize being the honor of leading the country. Unable to pass up such a good opportunity, the kunoichi entered the melee. She cleaned up rather nicely, taking on and toppling opponent after opponent. Emiri winning could have been a possibility, except that during the final rounds news arrived from her Clan that a second White Flame had been born. Impossible as it may have been, Emiri had a duty as the current White Flame to meet the child and confirm their ability. They would be her successor within the clan, after all. She withdrew from the tournament and returned to her family. Despite forfeiting, Emiri's performance within the melee didn't go unnoticed. Once Yoi Saya had been established as the Third Lady of Yukigakure, the Council decided to implement a formal ANBU force, offering the captain position to Emiri due to a combined effect of her years on the covert forces and her melee performance. Though it would keep her within the country more often than not, Emiri saw an opportunity within the position and accepted their offer. She definitely found her niche as Captain. She used the position and her operatives to their full advantage, gathering secrets and manipulating politics behind the scenes. She worked alongside her subordinates, making sure that she earned their loyalty and respect. She slowly began to develop strength and influence. She also had her operatives work on strengthening their standing among the people of Yuki. It was subtly done, but the ANBU used their abilities to maintain order among the cities and keep the country running smoothly. When Saya’s plans to invade Hoshi, Emiri doesn’t agree with her motives, but doesn’t move against the Yoi. Instead, she allows the rumors of the invasion to spread among the populace. As the news spread, many people became split and discourse towards what was going on began rising up, but never allowed to go too out of control. The worst incident was when Saya’s Hanchou challenged her in combat. The discourse kept growing and eventually the news came that Saya had to step down. Whether her own choice, or not, it was sudden and left those loyal to her scrambling to pick up the pieces. And Emiri was there to rather easily slide into Saya’s vacant spot. She had leverage over anyone who would speak up against her ascension, gained over her years as Captain, and the loyalty of the entire ANBU and Nakajima Clan to enforce it. Abilities Nakajima Hakuen As the White Flame of the Nakajima, Emiri is not only the leader of the Clan, but also one of their most powerful warriors. Fire is a part of her, it is practically her very essence. She is not only able to utilize the Hijutsu her Clan is famous for, but she can switch back and forth from her flame body with practiced ease to the point where it is near instantaneous. This doesn't detract from the chakra cost, however, and switching back and forth constantly can take a toll on even her. While in the flame body state, she is completely immune to physical harm, though she could be injured by chakra-enhanced attacks. But even if that were to happen, Emiri could simply heal herself by absorbing any natural fire that may be present. Misstress of Fire Even from a young age, Emiri has shown proficient talent at wielding katon jutsu, even more so than what would be considered normal for her Clan. She uses fire like it's second nature to her, as if it was simply another part of her. Even the fire that isn't part of her clan's jutsu is effected by her attachment to flames and it shows in their power. Ever Katon Ninjutsu she is capable of using is much more powerful than if anyone else used it, increasing by nearly a whole level of power. Because of her incredible control over her fire, Emiri is also able to control the color of her flames, making them appear as any of the four colors within the Nakajima Clan- Red, Blue, Green, or White - this is especially useful for disguising her identity as the White Flame of the Nakajima when she is on covert operations. Evasive Dancer While Emiri does enjoy using her terrifying katon jutsu, she is also very talented at using close physical combat as well. Because of her secondary love of getting in close and raining physical attacks on a person, shes had to learn how to make sure they are incapable of hitting her back. It's a difficult thing to do when in such close quarters, but Emiri is a lithe and graceful fighter, practically able to dance out of the way of incoming attacks, even at close distances. Her ability to dodge attacks is almost on par with that of a Primary Taijutsu user, and very few can hope to hit her through conventional means. Blazing Speed Emiri is a master at evading attacks, it does take quite a bit of speed to pull off what she is capable of. Her speed is so impressive that it has reached the same rate as that of Primary Taijutsu wielders, making opponents have quite a difficult time getting away from her. Impeccable Chakra Control Emiri doesn't have massive reserves of chakra at her disposal, so she had to learn how to control and manipulate what she did have and make it count. Every move she makes is calculated and precise. She can use every strand of chakra at her disposal when she needs it and never lets any go to waste.